What Americans need to know

(I apologize for the odd-highlighted text.  Something strange happened to the formating when I copied and pasted the original article.  I have tried to correct but can't.  I hope you can still read this.)

A college friend posted a link to an article on FB and asked for my thoughts.  You can read the article here.

1. Few People Are Impressed By Us

Impressed?  No, but my Arab students like seeing my pictures from back home and ask me a lot of questions about the US.  I doubt my Pakistani or Indian colleagues get the same questions. 

2. Few People Hate Us

“Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other countries don’t hate us either.”

The eye-opener for me was the death of Osama bin Laden.  I was surprised at the number of people who view him as a hero.  One of my students even linked me to a picture of him as a martyr.  I wrote that he should get psychiatric treatment and unfriended him.  There is a level of anger among the Palestinians that is pretty much the definition of hatred.

Americans tend to assume that the rest of the world either loves us or hates us (this is actually a good litmus test to tell if someone is conservative or liberal). The fact is, most people feel neither. Most people don’t think much about us.

I honestly don’t know what he means.  Liberals think the world hates America and conservatives think the world loves America?  I do know liberals like myself who think the world pretty much likes America.  And I have a conservative friend here who has the same opinion… so I really don’t get it.

3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World

Is it shocking how many people can’t pick out Iraq on a map?  Yes.  But I don’t care for the America bashing on this topic.  I have not found the average student here anymore “wordly” than the average student I’ve had in the US. 

I wonder if this guy just hangs out with people who like to bash America because I have found people who wish their country was more like America – and not just people from poor countries.

4. We Are Poor At Expressing Gratitude And Affection

He compares Americans with the Latin culture so, yes, we are not as outwardly affection.  Compared to the Brits, Germans, Kiwis, Canadians and Aussies the average American is at least gregarious and outgoing as any of them. 

5. The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great

“If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top quickly.“The problem with the US is that everyone thinks they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem with poor Americans is that ‘they don’t believe they’re poor, but rather temporarily embarrassed millionaires.’”

I see nothing wrong with believing you can move up the socio-economic ladder.  Yes, many Americans are delusional and wage mobility is lower now than it has been in a hundred years but is the alternative better?  Tell people they are screwed.  That will be a great motivator.

6. The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us

Do Americans really think the rest of the world is a shithole?  I guess I just don’t know those Americans.

7. We’re Paranoid

"In the US, security trumps everything, even liberty. We’re paranoid.I’ve probably been to 10 countries now that friends and family back home told me explicitly not to go because someone was going to kill me, kidnap me, stab me, rob me, rape me, sell me into sex trade, give me HIV, or whatever else. None of that has happened. I’ve never been robbed and I’ve walked through some of the shittiest parts of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe."

Finally!  A point I can agree on 100%.  I consider my hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be a pretty safe place… but, hey, 20 years ago I did get mugged there. There are some seedy elements in my tranquil home in Al Ain but I’ve never felt unsafe here... or in my travels to Ukraine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Germany, or Singapore.  And in most of those places I rented rooms in the red light district.

8. We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention

"We’re status-obsessed. Our culture is built around achievement, production and being exceptional."

I laughed out loud on this one.  Why?

1. I live in a place that is far more status-obsessed than the US.  (World’s tallest building, fastest roller coaster, indoor snow skiing, world’s largest mall, etc.)  Last month I made some students feel guilty for ruining a class.  The result?  A guy brought me a $650 pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses as an apology. 
2. I don’t see status seeking as a negative.  It’s a motivator.  Fifty years ago there was no road connecting Al Ain to Abu Dhabi or Dubai.  The main way to get there was by camel and the trip would take several days.  The founder of this country has funneled the wealth from oil sales into building a country with incredible infrastructure today. 

Sheikh Zayed also instilled a feeling of pride in his people (perhaps too much, but I’m forgiving on this because again, just a few decades ago the people of this country were dirt poor). 

9. We Are Very Unhealthy

“Unless you have cancer or something equally dire, the health care system in the US sucks. The World Health Organization ranked the US 37th in the world for health care, despite the fact that we spend the most per capita by a large margin.”

Agree 100%.  The picture of Americans on TV is that most are good-looking and in shape.  When foreigners visit the US they discover the truth and it surprises them… I have heard this many, many times.

10. We Mistake Comfort For Happiness

Like much of this article I shrug when I read this.  Yes, Americans like our toys more than our leisure.  We work 300 hours more per year than the average French family because we value the SUV in the driveway and the French enjoy August at the beach. 

That’s just not a big deal to me.